England v Switzerland: Ottmar Hitzfeld looking to the future regardless of result

After last week’s Champions League final pitted arguably the outstanding young
coach in world football against the most decorated, the respective dugouts
at Wembley on Saturday will be occupied by another two heavyweight
grandmasters.

Not done yet: Ottmar Hitzfeld is planning to re-build the Swiss team with young bloodPhoto: Action Images

In the nine years between 1993 and 2001, six of the Champions League finals involved a club managed by either Fabio Capello or Ottmar Hitzfeld and the symmetry of two remarkable careers has continued over the past decade.

Both made the step from club to international football in 2008 by accepting an opportunity outside their respective homelands, while Hitzfeld joined Capello on Friday in suggesting that his current job would also be his last.

“I wonder how Sir Alex Ferguson is able to work 10 months in a row every year without any break at all,” he said. “It’s very likely that I will finish my career as Swiss national coach.”

The shared challenge for Capello and Hitzfeld, then, is to ensure that a genuinely great managerial career does not limply peter out.

Yet with Switzerland third in Group G, six points adrift of England and Montenegro, Hitzfeld is already looking beyond Euro 2012. He is planning to blood a new generation and is seriously considering starting tomorrow’s match with two midfield teenagers from Basle in Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri.

“Every change in a team can turn into an opportunity for players to show themselves,” said Hitzfeld. “It doesn’t count if a player is young or old. It all depends on his performance, his potential and what he can do. I have no problem to throw them in.”

The changes, however, have been largely prompted by the shock retirement of Marco Streller and Alex Frei, Switzerland’s record goalscorer and former captain, after the goalless draw against Bulgaria in April.

Frei, who has scored 42 goals in 84 international matches, had endured a deteriorating relationship with Swiss fans because of the perceptions of his aggressive attitude. He was subjected to abuse and, according to some witnesses, some chanting that could even be interpreted as death threats. In announcing the retirement of both Frei and Streller, the Swiss Football Association referred to criticism “above what it is acceptable” that had “sometimes infringed on the private sphere of the two players”.

The loss of two such key players will also force a change to Switzerland’s usual 4-4-2 system, with Eren Derdiyok almost certain to start as the lone central striker.

“It’s always important for a coach to decide on the short term and long term — one factor doesn’t block out the other,” explained Hitzfeld. “I still believe in qualification for 2012 even if we now depend on the results of the Montenegro team. I also have eyes on the future. We must show what we have done in training and bring these performances on to the Wembley pitch.”

By that, Hitzfeld was making no secret of the need for his young team to adopt a physical approach. Philippe Senderos, the Fulham defender, also warned of the danger that Switzerland will present from set-pieces.

“We also like to show our physical presence on the pitch to the English players,” said Hitzfeld. “What counts is that Swiss team shows up very well, shows a new face, a new spirit. That we play with courage and a cute way.”

Switzerland need to win to retain any realistic hope of qualifying for Euro 2012 but Hitzfeld insisted that the pressure was all with England. “No one is expecting us to win,” he said. “The pressure in every game is on the favourite. We have nothing to lose. England can lose a lot. We want to play in some sort of liberated way. I wonder how England will cope with the pressure that will be on them.”

There has, of course, already been one chastening defeat for England this week at the hands of an experienced Swiss opponent. Hitzfeld hailed Fifa president Sepp Blatter as a “very important man for world football” and someone Switzerland was proud of”.

Yet even with such a formidable opponent in the away dugout, England really should have sufficient quality at Wembley to avert a second Swiss humiliation.